Tuchel more than capable of filling Klopp shoes

It’s fair to say that despite the dreadful campaign Borussia Dortmund has endured, the majority of Der BVB’s loyal fans were devastated to hear that their charismatic leader Jurgen Klopp would be leaving the club at the end of the season. Yet the man that will succeed him could be just as influential.

Thomas Tuchel will take over as Borussia Dortmund coach next season. (AAP) Source: DPA FILE

In his seven years at the club, Kloppo guided Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup and of course a UEFA Champions League final.

But the current season has seen the team struggle to find consistency and for the majority of the campaign it was fighting relegation and indeed bottom at the winter break. It now sits comfortably in eighth position but a whopping 37 points behind leader Bayern Munich.

Once the news of Klopp’s departure had sunk in, the focus quickly moved to potential successors.

Who could possibly come in to fill the incredibly large boots left by the hugely popular manager? Surely there had to be big name, experienced candidates on the shortlist.

We didn’t have to wait long for the answer though. Within days it was announced that Thomas Tuchel would be the one to take over.

So the question is, who is Tomas Tuchel and why was he chosen?

Funnily enough Tuchel and I both played at the same club under ex-Schalke, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick.

Tuchel played as a defender for SSV Ulm 1846, joining the club in 1994. He made 69 appearances for the Swabian side in four years, before ending his career at 25 due to injury in 1998.

I joined Ulm the next season as Tuchel left to begin life after football, with his first coaching appointment coming only two years later in 2000, as head coach of VfB Stuttgart's Under-19 side - which included a certain Sami Khedira.

After five year in the role he returned to Augsburg as youth team co-ordinator before taking up a similar role at 1. FSV Mainz 05.

After winning the Under-19 Bundesliga title in 2009, the club surprised many by naming Tuchel coach of newly promoted Mainz for the 2009-2010 Bundesliga season.

In his first season in charge, Tuchel led Mainz to a ninth place finish but it was the following year when he hit the big time.

Tuchel guided the club to its best ever Bundesliga finish of fifth and equalled the best ever start to a season by any club after securing seven wins in the first seven games - including an away victory over Bayern Munich.

The 2010-2011 campaign also saw the emergence of Andre Schurrle at Mainz - with 15 goals in 33 games leading to a big money transfer to Bayern Leverkusen.

So despite being relatively inexperienced, Tuchel has already earned quite a reputation and been approached by the likes of Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen.

It’s not the first time he’s followed in Klopp’s footsteps either.

Tuchel got his first start at senior level at Mainz, just as Klopp did.

While obviously disappointed that its guru-like master will be leaving, Dortmund fans can expect an exciting new era. Tuchel is known as a meticulous tactician who regularly changes formation based on the opposition.

He has spent the last year on sabbatical, learning and studying the game as well as other sports to increase his knowledge and tactical awareness.

Tuchel also experiments with unique training practices. Pitch dimensions are often cut to resemble a diamond - to prevent long passes down the sidelines - as well as forcing players to adapt to different shapes on varying pitch sizes.

He likes to promote youth, which can be seen in his recruitment - another key feature in Klopp's teams.

But it’s Tuchel’s ambition and thirst for knowledge that really stands out. 

“I learned everything about the game - especially during Guardiola’s time at Barcelona,” he said.

If that’s the case, and given his reputation in Germany, we can expect some epic battles between the two Bayern and Dortmund again in the coming season and perhaps a new era of success for the mighty Die Schwarzgelben.